Method of making and dispensing liquid carbon dioxide



June 3, 1930. J. w.v MARTIN, JR

METHOD OF M-AK'ING'ANDADISPENSING LIQUID 'CARBON DIOXIDE original Filed April 12,/ 192s /f JG ATTORNEY Patented June 3Q, 1913@ ,Y i

JAMES W. mantienen, or roNxEasQNEw -Yonx,1 AssieNon, `BY NESNE'ASSIGN- MENTS, 'ro :DEYIGEEQUIPMENT coEroiaArioNoE,Nnwxosx N; Y;, A c oitro'mtV i 'rIoN 0E DELAWARE METHOD .or ii'inxrns AND nisrENsING Henin `cnnnoNgn1ox1nE Appiiaionfaiea hernia-192e, seriai 'No. 191,606.' Renewed scepter 2, 1:22a

1 My present method relates more particu- Y larlyto liquid carbon dioxide as a commodie,

ty, regardless of the particular use to AWhich Y v y Vbon dioxide by measuring thevolumeof. the

liquid are impractical because, asvhas recent- 55 'l i it is to be applied.` The objectv'of the method 5 is to facilitate, simplify andstan'dardi'ze-tlie charging of containers linrvvhich the" liquid is sold or'froni Which it is"dispensed, and

particularly to accuratelypredetermine the precise amount of carbon dioxide 'in thecon- 10 tainers so that all containers of the same size and model can be reliably represented as containing the lsame amount of'carbondioxide,

Similar methods may be conveniently emv ployed for ac :ci'iratelych argingV any containerV l5 for any purpose, eithervviththe maximum safe amount or'any desired less amountof the carbon dioxide. y

" At present, it is the custom'to produce `cary bon dioxide gas and'render the-sameliquid at ordinary temperatures-by'compressing` it to 1,000 pounds ltol200 .pounds Vper square inch. V With such pressures itWill ,remain liquid `atall temperatures up'to'thecritical temperature of 88"v F.,1Where it Willv lose its liquidl quality and .become a gas, regardless of' Whatvthe pressuremay be. The present practice is to force this liquidinto thick v'vall steel containers, `charging the sametothe above described high pressures. But in pracv 30 tice, there is no direct Way of measuring` the amount of carb-onv dioxide Within the container, the present practice being to determine this by Weighing the bottle. andnoting the amount of increase in it's'vveight due to the charging with the liquidcarbon dioxide. Internal conditions, particularlyiasfto how much Vof theV container has been iilled-With the liquid aiid hovvmuch has been left empty,` are determined byv further deduction from the known cubicalcontentsofthe container and the ascertained Weight of the carbon dioxide therein. VVhere'the purpose liis to get a precisely predetermined amount ofthe liquid in the container, say enough to iill the same tWo-thirds full, there are obvious difliculties due to underch'arging and over-"- charging, and finally the adjustmentby careful venting dovvn -to the -'desireo Weight. ln

practice, it'often occurs that thef-latteradf 1 Under ,y such content, the' clearest'kind of yice beingl found flower, per. cubic foot.

justment is eitlier'neglected,ortis wasteful,

byfreasono-fthe excess carbondioxidebeing i' ly been discovered,` Carbon dioxideliquid is unlike any other' liquid in that itlis highly co'mpr'essible.. n f .i

conditions and vvithsuch a commodity, I have devisedmy present meth od,jvvhich includes freezing the liquidcai'- Vbon-dioxide to form carbon dioxide snow or y i ice, preferably molded in forms adapted to .f

fitrtlie container and preferablyv also making l the containers with removable closures adaptedito openup the full maximum cross-section `of the container vfor insertion of the ice.

Another recent discovery is that the. volume of the ice does not measureits carbon dioxide to vary as much as 25%say from below 8O pounds up to say 105 pounds percubic foot,

dependent on the pressure exerted onthe same at the tinie'ofconsolidation. Ice blocksy prepared by 'compressing carbon dioxidelV snow show -similar variation, the Weights of Well solidilied blocks ,running as lovvfas 7 0 pounds, 65 pounds and 60 pounds, or'even Consequently, `the v blocks must 'be i standcontainer is to be engaged solely by the number of .blocksand While this is entirely prac=4 tical, in certain cases simplery and more general Wayis towveigh the ice charged just before putting it into lthe container. `1

Theheatof the containeryvill almostjiinmediately melt enoughice and evolve enough l Y ardized asto densityr if fthe charge inv the r carbon dioxide gas to expel the air, wheref i uponthe closure may be clamped lon at sub- V stantially 'atmospheric pressure. In 'diie time, thejice Will 'all melt by heat absorbed through the walls of the container, the melting being at rsty sublimation togas form,

after the rvvell known 'manner of'ca'rbon di-` oxide ice, and then as the pressure increases lin the confined space, the final melting Will,

bedirectly to liquid. Where the Weight yof* carbon dioxidein the blocks is designed-.for

[setting up the above described internal pres-`4 sures of 1000 pounds to 1200 poundsper square inch, the volume of the liquid will naturally be much greater than the volume of the blocks, because liquid carbon dioxide at suoli pressures and at normal atmospheric temperatures is about 47 pounds per cubic foot as against the above described 65 to 105 pounds per cubic foot of the ice.

VVPractical illust-rations of how my method maybe applied will now be described in con nection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a. vertical longitudinal section on a much reduced scale, showing one ofthe largel liquid dispensing containers such as commonlyemployed at the works for various dispensing purposes, while Fig. 2 is a similar section of one of the smaller containers, or so-called power bottles in which theliquid carbon dioxide is retailed for various purposes; and

Fig. 3 is a how-sheet diagram.

The container shown in Fig. 1 may be of any desired size, but is typical of larger containers which may be say 8 or 10 inches in diameter by t feet or more in height. It comprises a drawn steel tube 1, with very heavy walls contracted at the lower end 2 to form shoulders adapted to rest upon a suitable stationary support as 3 and to provide al reducedroutlet portion l, having a valve fitting 5, controlled by hand wheel 6, to discharge the carbon dioxide through the outlet 7. The open upper end is provided Awith a massive flange collar 8, to which is secured Vbyheavy bolts 9, the coverV plate 10. As

, shown, there is an intermediate lead gasket l 11, surrounded by an annular upstanding Vflange 12 on the collar 8, which fits a corresponding groove 13 in the cover Vplate 10. VThe upper end of the container is shown as stayed by a fitting lll, which may be attached to the wall.

When it is desired to charge the container,

the bolts 9 are unfastened, thecover 10 re-` ice will gasify enough to displace the air from A 'l the container, while the cover plate is being p replaced and bolted. Thereupon, the blocks Vwill melt as above described.

If the blocks of ice have a density of say 95 pounds per cubic foot, they will yield almost exactly v twice their volume of liquid at 1000 to 1200 pounds pressure; while ice having a density ot pounds per cubic foot, will yield 11/2 times its volume of liquid. As it is practical- Y ly unsafe to have these containers more than twowthirds full of liquid at the pressures specified, two or at least 3 blocks, such as A,

A', A2, at say the 70 pounds density will be as much as should be used except for special located.

purposes, where such a great safety factor may be undesirable or unnecessary.

Such a container is commonly used for charging a small dispensing container, or power bottle, which may be of the type illustrated Vin Fig. 2. ln such containers the seamless drawn tube` 20 is commonly about- 11/2 inches in external 'diameter and the total length of the tube issay 15 inches. Hence a dispensing container such as shown in Fig. 1,

will be ci capacity sul'iicient to charge a very large number of the, smaller containers such as shown in Fig. 2. According to present practice, the container 20 is made integral with Aa contracted neck portion, which is closed by a suitable valve whichis conventionally shown as comprising a valvecasing member `21 having screw-threaded Atherein a valve stem 22 carrying a valve 23, which may be screwed up or down to 'open or close the passage26 which communicates with the interior of the container. When the valve is yunscrewed .from its seat, the gas or liquid can escape through the passage 2'?. ings, the body portion 20 is not integral with the valve outlet, the latter comprising a cylindrical portion 30, screw-threaded over the body portion 20 and having a reduce-d neck 31, in vwhich the valve fitting is rFliese parts form a removable closure for the upper end of the body 20. Consequently, this container can bev charged either in the old fashioned way, by screwing the upper end 32 into the outlet 7 of the large container of Fig. 1, or it also can be charged in accordance with my present method, by unscrewinf the top and inserting the solid carbon dioxide blocks, B', B2.

The details of my method as applied to L -tainer until the internal pressure approximately equalled the external pressure. The thus charged container, which is necessarily of great size and weight, must then be transported to the point wherethe liquid carbon Vdioxide is to be utilized.

The diagram also shows, at the right, how the liquid may be expanded to produce snow and cold gas, `the gas being returned to the liqueiier and the snow being compressed to Vice in the snow press. Then the ice is transported or shipped whatever distance may be necessary to reach the container to be charged. As advantages in shipping, 1t is to be noted ln the form shown in the draw-V ice form, may be reduced to tWo-thirdsor one-half the volume of theliquid carbon dioxide; the 50% extra space required for safety in the case of the 'liquid i's'rendered unnecessary; and the Weight and expenseoftheA oversize container areyeliminated. jln com-` mercialpractice, I pack the ice cakes in thick balsa Wood'boxes, which are not very expensive and which are plienomenally light@ Consequently, in quantity shipment the freight or express rate, which" is determined by Volumeand Weight, may beless than the cost for shipping ordinary Water icein'ordinary! boxes. The transportation of the carbon 1dioxide as ice entirely eliminates the explosion hazard, Whicliis unavoidablefor shipments in liquid form.

As before explained, the precise Weight of' liquid CO2 to be charged into the containers can always be accurately predetermined in accordance With my method, by Weighing the blocks of ice just-before chargin'gthem: into the container; but Vunder commercial conditions, Where the densities ,kandweights have been standardized, Very accurate results may be obtained simplyiby usingthe required number of standard blocks. y In Fig, vl, for l instance, if the blocks A, A', A2, arestandardized to Z 0 poundbloclrs of'on'e cubic .toot each and if they half fill-the container, it is certain that When the container and its contents have had opportunity to attain 'ordis nary atmospheric temperature, the container will be substantially two-thirdsv full of liquid, Weighing, foot, the corresponding internal pressureA breinglOOO to 1200 pounds,- acoordingtovwhat,

the atmospheric temperaturehappens toploe.A I claim: i

l. The method of charging highpressure,l

containers With predeterminedV amounts of liquid carbon dioxide, which method'includes charging a desired Weight of such ice in ther` container, hermetically sealingr the latter and permitting the enclosed"v ice to liquefy by exe posure of the container to normal atmos-4 pheric temperatures. 2. The method of containers with predetermined amounts of liquid carbon dioxide, Which method includes i separating a desired amount of frozen carbon dioxide by Weighing it, 4placing the thus predetermined Weight of the solid carbon di-` oxide Within thecontainer,hermetically sealing the latter and 'permitting said solidto liquefy 'by absorption of heat through the Walls of the container.

' 3. iThe method of charging Vhighpressure containers with* predetermined amounts ,of

liquid carbon dioxide, which method includes forming frozen carbon dioxideinblocksof size adapted to approximately fit the crosssection of the container, placingfthe thus pref f 'l' determined vWeight of the solidfcarbon dioxbonic acid forwarded totheplace 'of use ina say, 46 to i8 Apounds per cubic Y containers with substantially Apure carbon charginghigh pressure o liquefyby absorption Walls of the container. j 1l. The method of charging :high pressure containers l`with predetermined amounts of of heat 'through the',

liquid carbonl dioxide, Whichvr method includes forming frozencarbonrdioxidein,bloClrso standardized densityand of' size adaptedxto c approximately fit the-crossfsection of the con- ,tainer,'v f placing` 'tihe lthus predetermined o Weight of the solid carbon dioxidevwithin the container,hermeticallyse'aling the latter and permitting saidsolid toliquety by absorption ot heat through thewall's of the container.

. V5; The method of charging high pressure r containers With carbon dioxide, which includes placing carbon dioxide in-v solid form Within the container, sealing the Acontainer y,While the substance is stillin solid state, the amount of such.l solid being predetermined Withcreerence tothe cubic contentsk of the@` container so that upon rise of temperature of"v the container to atmospheric'` temperatures, the internal pressure of thesublimated gas Willbe sucientto maintainvmost `of thecar-l bon dioxide inliquid state.

6. The method ofl charging high pressure containers withfcarbon dioxide, which in-k 95 cludesplacing carbon dioxide inl solid form VWithin the container, and then sealing :the

container While the substance is still solid state wherebyy upon rise of temperature of the ycontainer the solid will be Vcoiiverted into liquid carbon dioxide.

'7. Themethod of'charging high pressure j dioxide,j Which method; Vincludes making i frozen-carbon dioxide blocks of desired size, density and f Weight, placing the* desiredA `Weight vofs'uch blocks' vin the container,.her

metically sealing the container While the' sub-rv i stanceis vstill in solid stapte and permitting suilicient rise of temperature tovsublimate or,r

melt said blocks.` i

compressed :carbon dioxidel into a container in solid form, so as to limit expansion of the` gas therefrom, and then raising the temperature suiciently toevolve gas required to produce fthe desiredpressure i 9c. A method, for the utilization A of caring air and acid through the Wall of the Vesi' o sel to convert said solid acid into a gaseous c state. L V- y f l. ,Y

.10. A method for theutilization of .'cai'ff y Y 11o" c, 8. The method of introducing a charge ofv iaof bonic forwarded'to the place-'of use in a solid form, comprising the coninlng of the acid in asolidform in a heat conducting Ves-4 sel and permittingA the heat exchange between y the vessel andv acid and between the'surround- 125 solid form, comprising the coniningv of the aoidin a solid Jform in a heat conducting 'vessel and permitting the heat exchange between the vessel and acid and between the surrounding air and acid through the wall of the Vessel to convert said solid acid into a gaseous stateTand further assisting the Conversion of lthe solid acid by the pressure generated in the vessel in the initial conversion of the solid acid to the gaseous state.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 10th day of April, A. D. 1926.

Y JAMES W. MARTIN, JR. Y

imY 

